Contemporary flight vehicles generally include a variety of electronic and electromechanical systems, such as guidance systems, sensor systems or still other systems that are mutually interconnected to cooperatively interact during operation of the flight vehicle. Since the systems are generally physically separated within the structure of the flight vehicle, signal communications between the various interconnected systems generally rely upon signal transmission elements that extend between the various systems. For example, metallic conductors and even optical conductors may be routed throughout the flight vehicle structure to communicate signals between the various interconnected systems.
Multi-stage missiles are an example of a flight vehicle having a plurality of systems that are electrically interconnected. In general, multi-stage missiles include a number of aligned stages having separate propulsion and propellant systems that provide propulsive thrust for the multi-stage missile during a specified portion of a flight. Each stage may therefore be individually activated (either in a predetermined sequence, or in parallel) to accelerate the vehicle to an intended speed and altitude. When propellant within a stage is exhausted, an in-flight separation of the exhausted stage occurs, generally by means of pyrotechnic devices that can be detonated on command to sever portions of a structural coupling. Staging generally continues until a final stage is activated, depleted of propellant and separated from the flight vehicle.
During an in-flight separation of an exhausted missile stage from an adjacent and subsequently operative stage, the electrical interconnections between the exhausted stage and the subsequently operative stage are disconnected. Although the aforementioned pyrotechnic devices may be used to sever the electrical interconnections, more commonly, electrical inter-stage connectors are provided. Briefly, the inter-stage connectors are generally separable into mating portions that reliably provide an electrically continuous path through the connector when the mating portions are coupled, and electrically decouple when a specified separation force is applied to the connector. Although the aforementioned inter-stage connectors suitably allow stages to be electrically decoupled, they are generally expensive and undesirably add to the overall weight of the missile.
Many flight vehicles may further lack sufficient internal space to accommodate signal transmission elements, such as metallic and/or optical conductors. In particular, and with reference still to multi-stage missiles, the internal space within the missile stages is generally severely limited, so that transmission elements are routed in ducts that are positioned external to the stages. Accordingly, an aerodynamic and flight dynamics penalty is incurred by the externally positioned ducts.
Thus, there are general needs for systems and methods that avoid the use of inter-stage connectors and that also avoid externally positioned ducts to accommodate inter-stage signal transmission elements.